Pathfinder Society Scenario #4–08: The Cultist's Kiss (PFRPG) PDF

An active cell of the cult of Lissala—ancient goddess of runes and obedience—has been discovered in the Varisian town of Palin's Cove. Seeking a chance to learn about this long-lost faith not from millennia-old relics but from its current practice, a team of Pathfinders travels to the industrial seaside settlement to uncover the secret coven and infiltrate its services in the guise of prospective converts. Will the Pathfinders discover the knowledge they seek, or will the evil cult subvert them with its vile and seductive faith?

Written by Sam Zeitlin.

This scenario is designed for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, but can easily be adapted for use with any world. This scenario is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Didn't earn a single prestige point and only one fifth of the gold. Still great.

The investigation part of this scenario is great. If you have a GM who isn't afraid to ham it up, you can meet some great characters. My GM tends to portray his NPCs as dumb and annoying, which is exactly what's needed here. I was surprised at the detail of the NPCs and their backstories, the author really tried to portray some memorable characters, and he succeeded.

The combat is pretty nasty. We managed to pull three encounters at the same time, but I don't really see how we could've avoided this, given their tactics. We could've been better prepared, but in the end we needed a tactical retreat; there was no way we could withstand what we were facing in the latter half of the adventure. Still, points for being unique and very cool, did not expect it to turn out like this.

The infiltration part was fantastic. No spoilers, but everyone at our table was amazed at how events unfolded, definitely didn't see that coming.

In short, this is a great (albeit brutal) scenario. Definitely recommend playing this, but we warned that character deaths are definitely possible.

Wonderful scenario for only the first half

I love the starting phase, gaining clues, visiting a mad guy, and a sudden fight.

I also love infiltrating into vampiric cult, but no more story except killing your ex-coworker??

Delve into the cult, kill evil guys, than save the world... I really dislike anything like that. Good combats indeed, but not a full story. And the investigation part is good for RP, but I don't see real usefulness or gain any advantage...

Ok

Played this at the higher tier with four three players and an NPC bard.

The scenario starts as a nice role play story with a whole town to explore although we solved that element a lot quicker than expected due to sheer luck.

The last section of the scenario was just a little too tough for us as we didn't have a very balanced party and we suffered badly due to will saves. There are also role play elements that may cause issues with certain characters so that is worth considering.

Half of us died. Five Stars anyway

I died during the first combat of this adventure (admittedly playing up). Two more of our six-man party died at the end and the rest fled to avoid a TPK. The combats here can be brutal for those unprepared or reckless.

And yet I'm still giving this 5 stars.

Cultist's Kiss is a spectacular scenario, with a whole town to roleplay through and an investigation broad yet interesting enough that it was two hours before an initiative check was rolled. The story set up here is top notch, with a plot and set of cult mysteries that hold up remarkably well.

As mentionned, the fights can be HARD, but they didn't feel unfair. A few startegic blunders on our part led to some casualties but the enemies are interesting and create some great tactical challenges.

This adventure can and likely will definitely run long (we were at 4 1/2 hours when it became clear we wouldn't survivie if we kept pushing forward) but if you have the time and are looking for a fun challenge then this is a spectacular choice.